This service is for authors with full first drafts who want to fix plot holes, character development shortcomings, and other big-picture issues. If that doesn't sound like you, take our 20-second editorial needs quiz.

A manuscript critique, also known as an editorial assessment, is a great place to start if you think there might be something wrong with your novel or nonfiction book but you can't pinpoint it. Our team will offer an unbiased perspective on your manuscript and send you a multi-page editorial letter outlining its strengths and weaknesses. We'll cover plot and character development, dialogue, structural cohesiveness, and more and provide a strategy for revisions. While not full big-picture editing (often called developmental editing), this more affordable option provides targeted feedback about issues readers and publishers might struggle with and gives you a plan to fix them.

What you'll get: A multi-page editorial letter outlining your manuscript's strengths and weaknesses and providing a plan to fix the weaknesses

Hear from one of our manuscript critique clients about the value we provide:

Completing the first draft of my manuscript was a huge accomplishment, but I needed guidance on where to focus my revisions in my second draft. The expert editors at ProofreadingServices.com came through with their manuscript critique service, making suggestions to help me fill plot holes, flesh out under-developed characters, and create a more satisfying narrative arc for my young reading audience. I simply could not have brought this project to a successful conclusion without their help, and I would definitely recommend their services to fellow authors.

Big-Picture (Developmental) EditingFix plot holes, character development shortcomings, and other big-picture issues.

This service is for authors with full first drafts who want suggestions and a plan to fix plot, character development, and structural issues. If that doesn't sound like you, take our 20-second editorial needs quiz.

Finishing your first draft is a huge milestone. Congratulations! However, after spending months or years on your manuscript, you may have trouble stepping back to identify remaining developmental issues. If you need a second set of eyes to help fix plot holes, refine character motivations, and strengthen themes, big-picture (developmental) editing is for you. Nonfiction authors can benefit too, as developmental editing addresses structural and organizational issues to help ensure information is clear and convincing.

We always match authors with developmental editors expertly suited to their specific needs, as a developmental editor who works with fantasy novels won't be the right fit for a political history text.

Note that big-picture editing differs from our manuscript critique service in that our manuscript critique service provides an editorial letter, while big-picture editing provides an editorial letter as well as copious developmental notes in the margins of your manuscript.

What you'll get: A big-picture editor will (1) read through your manuscript and add developmental notes in the margins and (2) provide a multi-page editorial letter.

Examples

What do developmental editing clients say about the value we provide?

The comments and notes from the ProofreadingServices.com team were so meaningful to me, beyond my expectations. Your developmental editing work is unrivaled. Thank you so much!

— Marianne, author of a historical fiction novel

When I purchased developmental editing from ProofreadingServices.com, I knew my second novel was a work in progress, and that reality helped me be open to the editing process.

There are stories, and then there are stories well told. Anybody can write a story, but I also believe anybody can write a story well told as long as he or she is committed. In that sense, developmental editing from ProofreadingServices.com broadened my view of what my manuscript could become.

While many creative writers fear that an editor will change their ideas, my experience has been that editors make the best writing teachers. My teacher, as I fondly called my editor, was not intrusive. She understood that my project was my baby, and her editorial letter gave me a professional perspective on what stage my draft was in. She gave me many suggestions on how to build my characters and plotlines to make them their best. I made all the final decisions, and continued conversations with my teacher have helped me tighten my draft even further since.

If you’re serious about publication, please do not write in a vacuum. Always get a second pair of eyes from a professional like the editors at ProofreadingServices.com. Their developmental editing service provides excellent support for authors aiming to make their work the best it can be.

Nobody forced me to say these things! I am truly a satisfied customer, and I will use this service again.

—S.L. Plummer (developmental editing of 84,656 words)

This package does not include any ghostwriting, rewriting, rearranging (beyond suggestions), or copy editing of the text.

Rates

Developmental editing is just 2.2 cents/word (minimum 10,000 words).

If, after amending your novel based on our developmental edits, you'd like another round of big-picture editing (including an editorial letter), the reduced rate is just 1.6 cents/word.

Paragraph and Sentence Editing 24/7Smooth out grammar and style issues before publication.

This service is for authors with full first drafts who need help with spelling, grammar, word choice, and sentence structure. If that doesn't sound like you, take our 20-second editorial needs quiz.

Our paragraph and sentence editing service, which we also call combined proofreading and editing, is what we're best known for. It's perfect for authors in the final stages of revisions who want a service more comprehensive than basic proofreading, which just covers typos. Our editorial experts will comb through each of your paragraphs and sentences to improve style and correct errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Free samples are available here.

Proofreading without EditingRemove distracting typos and embarrassing errors to ensure a cleaner read.

This service is for authors with a full edited draft that's about ready to publish. If that doesn't sound like you, take our 20-second editorial needs quiz.

If you need a final check for minor errors before you publish, we offer deals for proofreading only without any additional editorial services. This service is for "clean" texts, defined as the proofreader being expected to find one or two errors at the most per page. (For text that isn't "clean," the best option is our combined proofreading and editing service.)

Our skilled proofreading team specializes in catching typos, missing words, and spelling mistakes that can break readers' immersion in the world you've created. Contact us to get a quote (or see the per-word rates below), and let's get your book ready for publication.

What do proofreading clients say about the value we provide?

You have one talented proofreader. Awesome knowledge and understanding of correct usage and incredible attention to detail. I'm glad I went through the extra step—well worth the time and expense.

—Jeff Schrank (author of a 140,000-word manuscript about cognitive psychology)

After spending years researching and writing my book, including working with a professional editor for substantive editing, I was finished. With so much invested in getting the book ready for publication, I wanted to be sure no embarrassing typos or similar errors crept into the finished product. I chose ProofreadingServices.com to do a final "tie a bow around it" edit before going to print. I'm confident this one last professional review helped produce the polished product I was seeking. I will use ProofreadingServices.com on my next project.

—John F. Llewellyn, author of Birth of a Cemetery (proofreading of 87,542 words)

With my novel almost ready for publication, I needed some thorough proofreading before I went to print—but after working on the material for so long, I was too familiar with it to do the final check by myself. The team at ProofreadingServices.com was there for me, working within my tight deadline to turn around a clean manuscript. With their help, I'm confident that I've published a great book for my readers.

—Shawna Lynn Brooks, author of Home Again (proofreading of 53,907 words)

ProofreadingServices.com did an excellent job proofreading my memoir, making valuable corrections and catching errors that would have distracted readers. The service was exactly what I was looking for, and I would recommend their proofreading services to fellow authors without hesitation.

With millions of books to choose from, readers really do select books by their covers. A professionally designed cover will draw in readers and convey the tone and genre of your book in an instant. Our cover designers aim to attract new readers in five seconds and from ten feet away, online and in print. When surveyed, about four out of five people say that book covers play a decisive role in book purchasing habits and two out of five say that a cover has been the sole driving factor in deciding to purchase a book.

Marketing Professors Alain d'Astous and Francois Colbert studied what makes people want to read particular books and determined that "the most important effect appears to be the attractiveness of the book cover [in that] more attractive book covers lead to greater consumer interest" and that "[the cover] has a significant impact on perceived quality, especially when consumers are not familiar with [the book]." The attractiveness of the book cover was determined to be vastly more important than the author's reputation or the publisher's reputation in explaining book sales. But that's not all; a professionally designed book cover leads to 18% more royalties for those who self-publish, according to the Taleist's self-publishing survey of over 1,000 authors.

Professional cover designers vs. graphic designersThough it's possible to get a cover for cheaper than our prices, we caution authors against working with graphic designers who only dabble in book cover design instead of focusing on it exclusively. Working hard to write a book over many months or years only to get your cover designed by an amateur is like trying to sell a car with a great engine but a shoddy paint job. We advocate for a professional design since it's arguably the most important piece of the puzzle when attracting readers who don't already know your work.

The serviceYour cover designer will work with you based on current trends, book cover design best practices, and years of experience to maximize your sales and audience growth. She will present you with three concepts to choose from. After incorporating your input on all design elements, your cover designer will deliver your approved final cover as a PDF and JPEG.

eBook Formatting from $79Make your book available to readers across all digital devices.

Purely automated eBook conversion is famously imperfect; it leaves formatting errors that distract from the text. We meticulously format eBooks and keep prices low by using software for the initial conversion and then reviewing manuscripts page by page, fixing what the software didn't.

We format eBooks for Amazon Kindle (82% of the market), which uses the .mobi format. We also format eBooks for nearly all other retailers, since almost every service besides Amazon uses the .epub format. (Our .epub files are compatible with Smashwords, the largest distribution service for independent authors.)

Here's what you'll get:

Package 1: A .mobi file for Amazon Kindle OR an .epub file for everywhere else

Package 2: A .mobi file AND an .epub file, which means your book will be accessible everywhere

Watch out! Many unscrupulous companies, particularly those with shockingly low eBook formatting rates, just straight convert the files their clients provide using whatever styles the author has used. For example, if you haven't created heading styles, straight software conversions might result in an eBook without specially formatted chapter headings. We know how hard it is to write a novel, and we think it makes no sense to put your work into the hands of readers in a shoddy fashion. We're different because we use software and then we troubleshoot the eBook formatting issues that come up until your book looks like you've always dreamed it could.

What do eBook formatting clients say about us?

After receiving my formatted eBook, I have to say that everything about the service was perfect, from the quality of the finished eBook to the speed and professionalism with which you completed the project. I will work with you for my future books and would recommend you to any independent authors seeking quality eBook formatting services.

—Jarrah Jarrah (eBook formatting for a CEO handbook)

Seeking an affordable way to reach the online market, I approached ProofreadingServices.com for their eBook formatting services. The team was professional and fast, offering a volume discount for my 34 titles, and the delivered eBook files were of high quality. I was able to easily upload them for sale through online retailers such as Amazon and on my own website. I will definitely work with this team again in future and would recommend them to other authors.

The experience that I, Eduardo E. Castillero L., editor and curator of the intellectual work of the Panamanian historian Professor Ernesto J. Castillero Reyes, have had with the attention of Mr. Luke Palder, CEO of ProofreadingServices.com, has been extraordinary.

Everything has been possible. He has shown talent and desire to cooperate—I haven't heard a "no" yet. I recommend ProofreadingServices.com's eBook formatting services to people all over the world. You will find safe harbor and, in consequence, sell a lot of books, which is what we all want.

—Eduardo E. Castillero L. (eBook formatting for a history of the Panama Canal Railway)

We're best for narrative books (fiction, narrative nonfiction) and books that are mostly narrative with under five images. In other words, we're a great fit for about 95% of what readers purchase. We're not a great fit for more complex formatting such as fixed formats or drop caps. (If you don't know what these are, then they're most likely irrelevant to your publishing needs.) If your eBook needs to be highly formatted (this most frequently occurs with nonnarrative nonfiction like textbooks) or has lots of images (over five, not including cover art), please contact us for a custom eBook formatting quote. Otherwise, the rates below apply to you.

Amazon or everywhere? Authors who upload only to Amazon miss out on reaching nearly one out of five people (18%) searching for eBooks. That's a lot of missed readers and sales. We can convert your hard work to both .mobi and .epub, getting you in front of as many readers as possible.

Custom Typesetting and Interior Book DesignFormat your book so it's ready for printing. (We also offer eBook formatting.)

Your book is unique, and your book's interior design should be too. Our custom typesetting and interior book design service provides a unique layout that will reflect your aesthetic vision and genre and make your book look like it was printed by a major publishing house.

The result of our typesetting service is a series of stunning print-ready proofs delivered as a PDF.

Examples from our team:

Custom typesetting isn't something to attempt on your own. It requires software such as Adobe InDesign, and it's an advanced skill. Here's a great way to know if formatting your book for printing on your own is a good idea: If typesetting terms like "ascender," "drop cap," "em quad," "galley proof," "kerning," "ligature," or "widow" are a mystery to you, you're a great candidate for our typesetting service.

Why can't I just typeset in Microsoft Word? While you can use Word to experiment with typefaces, change kerning, and even introduce some basic design elements to your manuscript, professional typesetting will always yield vastly better results. Microsoft Word simply doesn't allow for the type of micro-adjustments necessary to produce a fantastic layout. For example, in most books, text is justified, that is, aligned flush against both the left and right margins. However, justifying text in Word often results in unnatural spaces between words. A professional typesetter will adjust each line individually, resulting in a layout that enhances the writing you've worked tirelessly on.

What if I'm convinced that Word's formatting is good enough for me? If you don't need a beautifully designed PDF through custom typesetting but do need your book formatted in Microsoft Word so that it meets your printer's basic printing requirements (margins, section breaks, page numbering, etc.), we can do that. The cost is generally around $90, varying based on the length of the book.

What do custom typesetting clients say about us?

I came across ProofreadingServices.com when I was searching for professional editors and designers to build a relationship with for our current and future projects. We purchased their editing, typesetting, and proofreading and we were not disappointed. They are very prompt and thorough. They worked with us as we were very particular in how we wanted the final typeset PDF to look. They have a variety of services for those who need guidance each step of the way or just a particular service. We would highly recommend them for typesetting, editing, proofreading, or anything else.

—Linzi Morris, Morris Management (custom typesetting for a self-help book of 20,004 words)

Before typesetting, we recommend these steps to ensure your book is ready to be "frozen" in a print-ready PDF:

You send your beautifully designed book to your preferred printer. You're ready!

The typesetting rates you see below are for narrative books (fiction, narrative nonfiction) and books that are mostly narrative with some images (under 10). In other words, they apply to about 95% of what readers purchase. For books with more complex interior design needs (books that fall into this category often include textbooks, cookbooks, travel guides, children's books, coffee table books, and other books with over 10 images), we can provide custom quotes for complex typesetting.

Literary Translation into and from +90 LanguagesShare your manuscript with the 86% of the world that doesn't speak English.

After spending years working on your book, limiting yourself to just the English market would be a waste. Great stories are universal, but as 86% of the world's population doesn't speak English, manuscripts are often limited to just one corner of the linguistic world (which also means authors' profits are artificially low). With our skilled team of literary translators and wide network, translating from English into nearly any language is possible (from Afrikaans to Zulu). Let's talk about how we can help you grow your international audience and sales.

What do literary translation clients say about us?

Seeking to reach a wider international readership, I approached ProofreadingServices.com to translate my romance novel from the original German into English. My goal was to achieve a translation that captured the nuance of the material and stayed true to my authorial voice, and the translation and subsequent editing service did just that. I am super happy with the high quality of the German to English translation and with the efforts and helpful comments of my English editor. I would definitely recommend ProofreadingServices.com for literary translation!

—Catherine S. (German to English translation and English editing of a 44,200-word romance novel)

Rate9 cents/word, regardless of the genre or language pair. (We can translate from English and into English.)

Book Marketing Packages from $199Get help gaining readers and selling your book.

With our years of editorial and publishing experience, our team will craft a package of marketing materials to help you sell your book. After reading your book cover to cover, we'll provide you with (1) a back cover blurb to entice readers, (2) a punchy tagline for use in marketing copy and social media, (3) a BISAC category determination to give your book the best chance of success, (4) a book description and five optimized keywords for use on Amazon, (5) an author biography to position you as a favorite in your genre, (6) a list of the contact information for 10 bloggers who are relevant to your genre so you can email them to promote your book (get more than 10 bloggers here), and (7) three tweets and three Facebook posts about your book to our +73,000 followers.

Contact information for 10 bloggers who are relevant to your genre (get more here)

Six social posts about your book to +73,000 followers

Examples

What do book marketing clients say about the value we provide?

Wading into book publishing as an independent author is a challenge. Being so close to the material, I was finding it difficult to sell my manuscript through a short blurb or narrow down my long list of potential Amazon keywords. ProofreadingServices.com stepped in with their book marketing package, crafting a back cover blurb that will captivate young readers, helping me identify the right BISAC categories for my book, curating a list of blogs for me to contact in my marketing efforts, and more. Thanks to their team, I'm starting my publishing journey with confidence. I highly recommend their book marketing services!

—Richard Wright (book marketing package for a middle-grade novel)

Most authors publish with the hopes of selling many copies, but before purchasing a book, readers need to be captivated. The ProofreadingServices.com team knows what readers want. They combed through each of my books to write an engaging blurb, Amazon description and keywords, and author bio, and they provided information about which bloggers to target for each title, which will allow me to boost my marketing efforts tremendously. I recommend the book marketing package for first-time and experienced authors alike.

If you're seeking a literary agent or a publisher, our team will leverage years of industry experience to create a query package to promote your manuscript. After reading your book cover to cover, your publishing expert will create (1) a query letter for agents or publishers, (2) a synopsis that provides just enough detail to entice but not overwhelm, (3) an outline of major plot or informational points, and (4) a targeted list of 10 agents or publishers you can submit to (you can increase this number here).

What do query letter clients say about the value we provide?

ProofreadingServices.com did such wonderful work with my memoir's query letter package. My core thoughts were well written in the synopsis and chapter outline. I felt so lucky to work with Michelle and the rest of the team. Before submitting my draft, I was so worried because I was navigating publishing for the first time. However, I am so satisfied with the work and recommend it more than 100%.

—Marianne (received a publishing offer from an NYC publisher in May 2018)

I had no idea how to pitch my manuscript to publishers, which publishers were likely to be interested, or how to get in contact with them. I turned to ProofreadingServices.com because I needed insight into the publishing industry, and they exceeded my expectations. Their team carefully read my manuscript and wrote me a compelling query letter that captured what I had spent years writing, giving me confidence in my pitch and saving me a ton of time. I can't imagine submitting my book to publishers without ProofreadingServices.com's help.

Targeted Blog Lists for Book PromotionGet contact info for bloggers who could help promote your book.

If your book isn't being talked about on relevant blogs, you're missing a huge opportunity to inexpensively build an audience. Our team has perfected a foolproof process to identify blogs most similar to your book's topic, weed out the spammy ones and the inactive ones, and find the contact information of the most promising ones. We'll deliver a spreadsheet with only the high-quality blogs and their contact info so you can reach out to pitch your book as the next best thing.

What you'll get: A targeted spreadsheet with the contact info of bloggers who write about your book's topic or genre or have otherwise been identified as people who might write a blog post about your book

Targeted Lists of Agents and PublishersIncrease your publishing chances by starting with the right contacts.

If you're planning to seek an agent or publisher to publish traditionally, we can save you a ton of time and increase your chances of success. Our team has perfected a foolproof process to identify agents and publishers who are great candidates for your work based on your book's topic, reading level, genre, and the agents'/publishers' current needs. We'll deliver a spreadsheet with only the best prospects and their contact info so you can reach out to pitch your book as the next best thing. (Note: In order to pitch your book to agents and publishers, you'll need a query letter. We can write a query letter for you.)

What do clients say about our research?

Your delivery of literary agents is amazing. Honestly speaking, I didn't expect such great detail about the literary agents and their contact info. I can't thank you enough. By the way, can you do another 40 agents and 50 publishers? Thank you so much for your team's great work.

—Yunnith

What you'll get: A targeted spreadsheet with the contact info of agents and/or publishers who are likely to be interested in your book based on their past behavior and current needs

Example list of curated agents (redacted)

Example list of curated publishers (redacted)

Rates$89 for 25 agents or publishers and $2.99/agent or publisher after that (capped at whatever you'd like; we recommend 120 listings total, costing $373.05 overall).